


I’m In Trouble Deep

by Visionsofdazzlingrooms



Category: blue bloods
Genre: Catholicism, Danny does, F/M, Feminism, Linda doesn’t want the baby, Pro-Life, Talk of Abortion, Unplanned Pregnancy, Unwanted Pregnancy, clashing morals, doubts, fears, talk of miscarriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:28:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27151106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Visionsofdazzlingrooms/pseuds/Visionsofdazzlingrooms
Summary: She didn’t want this, not now, not then, not ever, not after...Linda is conflicted when she discovers she’s pregnant and doesn’t want to be. Her religious morals say she has to keep the baby, and her feminist morals say she can get rid of it.Sometimes being a Pro-life feminist catholic sucked
Relationships: Danny Reagan/Linda Reagan, Mary Reagan/Frank Reagan
Comments: 133
Kudos: 8





	1. I’m Having Your Baby

**Author's Note:**

> This is a pro-life story! I’m not going to bash abortion (despite my beliefs), but I will talk about it. 
> 
> If you don’t agree with me, don’t read this. Don’t feel like you have to bash the story with negative comments. If that’s what ends up happening, I will change the setting where I have to review your comment

"No..." Linda whispered barely audible. She closed her eyes, gripping the bathroom sink. She didn’t want this, not now, not ever, not after... She picked up the stupid stick again and let out a sob. 

Linda tried to remember the last time she and Danny had sex. 

“Yesterday. It was yesterday, you whore.” 

So she walked into the bedroom and stared at the wall calendar. Her period was well past due; why hadn't she noticed? Why wasn't she more careful? What wasn't *he* more careful?

Linda needed answers, needed someone to knock some sense into her. She grabbed her car keys and drove into Manhattan.

***********

"Mary?" Linda called as she made her way through the front door. 

"In here, dear!"

She walked to the living room, "Mary, can I talk to you?"

"Of course." She scooted on the couch, gathering her needle point. "What's up?"

Linda stared down at her wedding rings, fiddling with the engagement ring. "I... I'm pregnant."

"Oh, Linda, that's great!" Mary's smile immediately faded when she saw her daughter in law looking up, eyes filled with tears ready to fall. "That's not great."

"I don't want it."

Mary was surprised, "you don't... but haven't you and Danny been talking about another one?"

"*Danny* wants another one. I don't."

"I'm sorry, Linda, but I'm confused. Weeks ago, you were talking abo-"

"*Danny* was talking about it, I wasn't. I don't want another baby." Linda sniffed, trying to keep the threatening tears to stay in her eyes. "I'm such a terrible person."

"No you're not. You're a great person. Now tell me, why don't you want this baby?" Mary loved babies; she loved anybody's babies- hers, Millie's, Avery's... she was obsessed with babies. She loved her little granddaughter Nicky, and she knew she'd love whatever came next. 

As quietly as a mouse, Linda confessed , "I'm scared."

"And you have every right to be. Why are you scared?"

"What if I lose it again? What if I have a miscarriage? Or a still birth like-" She closed her eyes, that was still a touchy subject. It would always be a touchy subject.

Mary wanted to tell her none of that would ever happened, but no one thought Linda's still birth would happen, and it still did.

"You need to talk to Danny about this."

"No!" Linda stood up and turned in a small circle, as if trying to physically get away from the idea. "I can't do that."

“Well, honey, he's going to notice when you start showing."

"But he's going to be mad at me. He's going to tell me I'm stupid and paranoid and I shouldn't be thinking these things."

"Linda, Danny would never call you stupid. You still need to talk about it." She paused, thinking about how to word her next sentence in a way that won't send Linda to the water park.

Linda shook her head, a few tears slipping out of her eyes. She furiously wiped them away, feeling cornered. 

"Are you going to keep the baby?" Mary wondered quietly. Even though she lived through the Wade v Roe act, the idea of abortion (legal or not) was still completely foreign to her. Sure, her last two kiddos were unplanned, but she had wanted them. 

Mary was pretty sure Linda shared her beliefs, but the blonde was a feminist. She always said she could do whatever the hell she wanted to and with her body, and anyone to tell her otherwise would be better off dead.

"No, I couldn't abort the baby. As soon as that egg's fertilized, it's a human. A tiny, itty, bitty pea-sized human that depends on me for.... everything, even oxygen." And that thought is scary as hell. 

"My advice? Talk to your husband."

***********

"Hi, honey." Danny kissed her lips in their usual greeting. "How was your day? Did you work today?"

"I work Monday. How was your day?"

"Uneventful."

"Really? I'd think it'd be busy, seeing as you're the best." ‘That's right, Linda. Butter him up so he won't yell at you.’ 

Danny smiled and kissed her again, "wrapping up a case is always easy and uneventful. Lotta stupid paperwork. Which means," he wrapped his arms around her waist, and she feels nauseous again. Kissing her cheeks and neck, he told her, "which means I'm yours for the whole weekend."

Which ordinarily would be fantastic, but now it sounds terrible to Linda. He was going to have to spend the whole weekend with his pregnant wife who didn’t want to be pregnant. 

She faked a smile so he wouldn’t see her true feelings. She kissed him back, meaning to be languid and sweet, but she couldn’t help herself.

She pulled back after the searing kiss. "Why don't you get cleaned up, then we can eat?"

While he was washing up, Linda heats up the chicken chili on the stove. It was hard not to cry into the chili; she heard her heart pounding in her ears, felt it thudding in her chest. 

Danny wasn’t coming, and she stared to worry, which she shouldn't do, because he was perfectly capable of washing his hands and face, but she still worried anyways. She walked up the stairs and into the bedroom. "Danny?"

He walked out, a slightly confused look on his face, and held up the box for the home pregnancy. 

"I meant to throw that away."

"Did you think you were pregnant?"

Linda sat on the bed, and looked to the floor. She paused for a long time, and the suspense was killing Danny. "I... am pregnant."

"That's fantastic!" He saw her crestfallen face, "Uh, sweetheart, why am I smiling and you look like you want to die?"

She pathetically laid on the bed, curling her knees to her flat stomach. The tears came and she hated it 

"Linda?" Danny knelt in front of her, holding her hand. "Honey, what's wrong? Aren't you happy?"

"Obviously not!"

"Why the hell not?" His voice was so soothing, so calm and quiet and concerned. 

"I don't want it." She whispered quietly. She felt his hand tense in hers. He was quite for a long, long time. "Please say something."

“Why? Why don't you want the baby? You told me you'd want another one."

"That was before I got one!" She babbled, sure he couldn’t understand her 

Danny sat on the bed and pulled her into his arms. He rubbed her back, kissed her head, rocked her gently. 

Once Linda calmed down, which she was sure was several, several minutes, she laid her head on his shoulder. He stroked her hair slowly, processing all of it.

"So you're going to abort?"

“I- no. I couldn't do that."

"Adoption?"

"You seem very okay with this idea."

“I'm not going to force you to have something you don't want, even if I want it. It's your body, baby, and you do what you want."

‘Man, I love him’, Linda thought before speaking again. "I just wish we could skip the whole pregnancy, y'know? Just immediately have a baby."

"You loved being pregnant."

She got off his lap. "But I lost the baby. Don't you get it? I lost her. I killed her-"

"No." Danny said firmly and stood up. "You didn't kill her, Linda. Something went wrong. You didn't cut off her oxygen supply."

"Yes, I did."

"Honey, we've been over this. There was absolutely nothing you could've done. It was my fault anyways. But I need to know... do you really not want this baby, or are you just scared shitless?"

She closed eyes, more tears coming. "I'm scared."

"So we'll figure it out. You're my wife, I love you, and we'll figure this out. Okay?"

She nodded, wiping the tears. "I love you."

Danny pulls Linda into a hug, letting her cry. Things were no where near resolved, but she was glad he was so understanding and willing to work through it.


	2. I’ve Been Losing Sleep

Linda didn’t sleep that night. Between the knots in her stomach and the decision she made, she couldn’t calm down enough to fall asleep. She hated nights when she couldn’t sleep, because it meant Danny couldn’t sleep, and Danny not sleeping was a bad thing. He needed his sleep more than she craved hers, and she felt guilty for keeping him up.

At about three in the morning, Danny wandered downstairs to the tv volume softly on low and his sleeping wife curled up on the couch. She was snoring lightly, so he turned the tv off and carried her back to bed. He was thankful he had tomorrow off; he really needed to talk to her about this unwanted baby.

Danny wanted children with Linda. He had known that ever since he saw her treat Jamie when he was still young enough to be babysat. She gave him such respect, even though he was a bratty seven year old.

Danny knew she’d be a fantastic mother. Never did he imagine it would be taken away from her, all because of him. He had to scare her, and because he scared her, she went into an early labor. Because of the early labor, their baby girl was born lifeless. That had been two years ago, and Linda had vehemently said she didn’t want any more. That she didn’t want to even try told everyone how devastated she was. He had been able to convince her to at least try again, and if she couldn’t get pregnant (which until nine hours ago was looking like a definite possibility) they would adopt.

He put her to bed, whispering his love for her, telling her he’d be by her side no matter what she chose.

**********

Linda was trying to take a nap several hours later, but was finding it a difficult task. The migraine she had woken up with wasn’t leaving her alone, and her stomach felt queasy and acidy. She had tried eating regular soup crackers, but she had thrown those up promptly after finishing the pack. An hour ago, Danny had been able to convince her to eat some ice cream. It always soothed her upset stomach, and the sugars helped her migraine. But not this time; her migraine was terrible, and although the ice cream helped a little bit, her stomach still felt queasy.

She had been crying ever since she found out she was pregnant. She had cried herself to sleep last night on the couch, while watching some movie about a mother and her daughter. She felt terrible about what she wanted to do. Her eyes were itchy from the tears she had just cried and her throat was dry. A wet tear spot on the pillow beneath her head was cold against her cheek.

She didn’t open her eyes when she felt her husband’s weight settle next to her. She smiled as he stroked her cheek, but kept her eyes closed. She hoped he wouldn’t notice she had been crying.

Danny surveyed the room. It was two o’clock in the afternoon, and the lights were off and curtains drawn. He ran his fingers through her shoulder length blonde hair. Five days ago, she was smiling happily, playing with her three year old niece. Five days ago, she had told Danny she wanted another kid and had dragged him into the bedroom. Now here she was, saying she was going to keep the baby, but having reservations and doubts.

“Sweetheart?”

She knew she needed to listen. “Must be important.” Her eyes remained closed, her voice a little shaky. “You used the code word after all.”

“It is important. Are you— can you look at me?”

She opened her eyes, her brow furrowing when she saw the sight aura. “What’s up?”

“I get the feeling you don’t really want this baby.” He didn’t beat around the bush.

Linda sighed; she should’ve known her answer last night wouldn’t be enough. “I don’t know what I want.” She admitted, closing her eyes again.

“Meaning?”

“I don’t want to be pregnant,” she whispered quietly, ashamed of herself. She was a female, her instinct was to breed. She wanted children, she had known she wanted kids of her own since she was six years old. So why did she not want them now? Why did she not want them with the most perfect partner a girl could ask for?

“What’re you going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Linda, answer me truthfully, and I won’t get mad no matter what you say... do you want to get rid of the baby?” He really hoped she’d say no. He hoped that she was just really scared after what happened the last time.

Her bottom lip quivered and she started crying. Crying for herself, crying for her unborn baby. She didn’t want it; she had thought about it last night and she knew she didn’t want it. But being a catholic, and a pro-life one at that, she was morally conflicted. Her religious morals told her that unborn babies, or fetuses as they were so rudely called, were human beings. They breathed and they moved and they had a brain and a heartbeat. They were humans.

But her feminism was telling her she could do what she wanted: get rid of it. Go somewhere no one knew her, lie to Mary and to Danny, and just get rid of it. Her feminism told her she could do what she wanted with her body, because it was her body. Not Danny’s, not Mary’s, *hers*. But she knew that abortion was wrong; she’d be a liar if she ran off and told no one she had one done, and she’d be a murderer, and she couldn’t live with that.

Her answer was barely audible, “yes.”


	3. Tired Of Fighting

Danny's hand stopped rubbing her back. He felt as though someone knocked the wind out of him. Linda actually wanted to murder their baby? He got off the bed, not sure how to process this. He should tell her no, tell her she was wrong, tell her it was a sin. He wanted to tell her so much, but only a small, strained "oh" came out.

Linda stood up, tears streaming down her face. "Talk me out of it! Please! Talk me out of it."

He turned around, "so you want the baby?"

"No."

"But you just said you wanted to be talked out of an abortion."

"I do!"

"Linda, you're not making sense."

"I don't want to lose the baby!" She almost screamed, sinking to her knees and clutching her stomach. "I don't want-"

Danny kneeled in front of her, holding her tightly. 

"I don't want the baby because I don't want to lose it. I don't want.... Danny, you have *no idea* how scary it was. Waiting for Ella to breathe, to cry, to *move*. And she didn't. She did nothing. She was dead in the womb- in my womb! And that's all my fault!" Linda hid her head in her arms, resting on her raised knees. Quietly, she whispered, "I don't want this baby to suffer the same fate."

Danny didn't know what to say to that. She was right- he didn't know what it was like to wait for a new born baby to breathe. Thanks to a nasty gun shot wound, he had been in surgery when Linda went into an early labor. "It'll be fine-"

"How can you say that?" She stood up quickly- too quickly as she fell down, smacking her elbow on the bench at the end of the bed. 

Danny was quickly by her side, an arm around her. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Stood too quickly."

"Has that happened before?" He helped her stand, and held onto her until he knew she was steady. 

She nodded, walking from him. "It usually happens on my period. Not enough iron."

"You should maybe get iron pills. Since we know you're anemic, it might be good for you and... the baby?"

Linda shook her head, walking into the en-suite. She closed and locked the door behind her, wishing it never happened. She looked at herself in the full length mirror, lifting her shirt. She stood sideways, her hand rubbing her flat stomach. 

"I wish I wasn't pregnant," Linda whispered, tears falling again.

*********

At Mary's and Danny's persistence (and her own medical mind), Linda made an appointment with her obgyn. She didn't want anyone to come along, so she sat in the waiting room by herself. She was super aware of her heartbeat, which she hated. The music, which was a calming instrumental of a pop song, wasn't helping her either. 

"Linda Reagan?"

She blew out a breath and grabbed her purse. She followed the nurse to the back room, and sat down on the examination bed. Just being in the building again was bringing tears to her eyes. 

"Linda," the doctor, Abigail, smiled as she came in after knocking. "It's nice to see you. Here to discuss better birth control options?" Abigail wasn’t Linda’s regular doctor.

"No, uh... I stopped taking birth control about a year ago. Didn't renew the prescription, and my husband wanted a baby, so I'm not on it anymore."

"Are your periods better?"

Linda scoffed, "no."

"What brings you here today?"

"I'm... I think I might be pregnant."

Abigail smiled, "what makes you think that?"

"Missed period and a home pregnancy test. Danny thinks I should have a real test done."

"But you don't think so?"

Linda was about to tell the truth, but she said, "no, I think so."

"Okay. When was your last period?"

Linda thought back. ‘It's almost March, so..’. "Uh, January. Twenty ninth." She remembered that because it was Frank's birthday, and she had a miserable time due to cramps and headaches. 

"Technically, since it's the 25th, you're not passed due yet. If you'd like, I can do some tests, but I'd say wait two weeks after your period's due."

Linda didn't like that answer. She needed to know now. "Um, no. I'll come back."

"Okay. You can make an appointment at the front desk."

*********

"What did the doctor say?" Danny wondered that night as they climbed into bed. 

"That I have to wait. It hasn't been a month since my last period, so I have to wait. But if she had actually *read* my file, she'd know without birth control, my periods are irregular as f***."

"You must be pissed. You never use the f-word."

"Of course I'm pissed!" She talked with her hands. "I don't want this damn baby- I don't even know if I have a damn baby inside me... and she wants to torture me further by making me wait?"

Danny sighed, reigning in his anger. "How long does she want you to wait?"

"She wants to wait till the end of February, then wait two more weeks. By then, I'll be like eight weeks!"

"Linda...." he took her hand, not looking her in the eyes at first. "I need to know. Do you really not want-"

"Yes, dammit! I don't want it." She got out of bed, throwing the covers off her. Storming to the en-suite, she held in the tears and slammed the door. 

Danny cursed at himself. He thought she'd be happy with another baby. Hadn't she told him she wanted one? Didn't she get off birth control because she wanted one? He got up and stood outside the door. "Okay. Okay. Fine. You don't want the baby? Fine. Get rid of it. Go somewhere else and get it the hell outta your body."

He jumped back when the door was yanked open. There stood Linda, tears tracks on her cheeks; but instead of an expression of sorrow or sadness, she wore one of pure anger. 

"How dare you? How dare you talk to me like that?! Do you think I'm enjoying this? Do you think I actually like debating with myself whether or not to keep the baby? How dare you be sarcastic like that?" She aimed at his chest, but accidentally punched his solar plexus. She ignored the coughing from behind her. 

"Linda-"

"You don't tell me what I can and cannot do. This is my choice!"

"We're married, Linda! Last I checked, that meant a fifty-fifty partnership. You're right- in the end, it's your decision. But I'm sure as hell going to try to convince you to keep this baby. You don't get to decide to get rid of it without talking to me."

"It's my body!"

"We're man and wife- we are as one, and you know that!"

"Shut up! Just... shut up! I don't have to listen to this crap." She snatched her robe from the bench and slammed the bedroom door behind her.


	4. I’ve Made Up My Mind

He watched another dart hit the board and fall to the floor. "You're off your game, brother." Joe smiled, seeing victory that night. 

It was the next night, Thursday, and Danny had decided to go out with Joe. He didn't need to hear Linda tell him how it was her decision and she could do what she wanted. 

Danny only shrugged in response to his brother, picking the dart off the floor. 

"Trouble on the home front?"

"You could say that."

Joe sat at their table. "Want to talk about it?"

Danny looked around, as if someone was watching. He sat quickly, "okay, but you have to swear not to tell a single soul, okay?"

"Sure."

"Swear not to tell a single soul."

"I swear not to tell a single soul," Joe chuckled lightly, not aware of the gravity that was about to come. "What's wrong?"

"I think Linda's pregnant. The home test says she is, but her doc wants to wait four more weeks."

"And this is bringing trouble?"

"Linda... wants an abortion."

"What?" Joe shouted loudly, only to have Danny's hand clamp over his mouth. He licked his brother's palm, much to his annoyance. 

Danny groaned and wiped his hand on Joe's T-shirt. "That's disgusting."

"Are you going to let her? Abort, I mean."

"No. One, I don't let her do anything. Two, she won't abort, I know it. She's just... thinking about it."

"If she's thinking about it, I'm pretty sure she's going to do it."

"She won't. I know. I just... we keep having argument after argument after argument. She says she wants the baby, but she doesn't want to be pregnant. Then she says she absolutely does not want the baby."

"How pregnant is she?"

"I don't know. Two days? Three weeks? Pregnant enough so it shows on a test."

"She'll make the right decision," Joe assured his brother. 

"Not a word of this to anyone."

***********

"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned." Linda looked to the floor, her voice raw from crying. "It's been a week since my last confession."

"What were the sins?"

Linda choked on a sob, and Father McMurray softened. 

"What is it, my child?"

"That's just it, Father. I'm... pregnant, and.... I don't want to be."

"So you want to get rid of the baby?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm here. My catholic morals say I have to keep it. My feminist morals say get rid of it. I... I'm conflicted, Father. All of me believes that that baby is human, no matter what science tells us, but...."

"What does your husband say about this?"

"My husband doesn't control me. It doesn't matter what the hell he says. Oh, um, sorry." She apologized for cursing. 

"Why don't you want the baby?" Father McMurray pressed the tips of his fingers into a teepee. 

"Because the last time I was pregnant, it went horribly wrong. I had a miscarriage, and I never want to go through that he- that experience and those feelings ever again."

"If you knew you didn't want children, why-"

"Have sex? Because I thought I wanted another one, but now that I might actually have a baby inside me.... I don't know, Father. Any advice?"

"What does scripture say about this?"

"Scripture doesn't say anything about abortion. However...." she sighed, "we know as soon as that egg is fertilized, and a zygote forms, than it's human. And it's a human, and abortion is killing it, and if I kill it... I wouldn't be any better than the scumbags my husband arrests."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Dammit, Father! If I knew that, I wouldn't be here, now would I?" She took a breath, "sorry, sorry."

"I can see you're morally conflicted."

"Ya think?" Linda muttered under her breath. 

"Have you prayed about this?"

"Yes."

"Have you gotten an answer?"

"I looked at Psalm 139, verse 13. Psalm 127: 3-5. And strangely Exodus 23:7."

"What did those verses say?"

"The Psalms said that the baby is fearfully and wonderfully made, and that children are an in-heritage, a gift from God. Exodus said don't kill the innocent..."

"Then that's your answer right there. Your baby is a gift from God. It's an amazing gift from an amazing God. You keep the baby, pray for it. I can help you if you'd like, find some scriptures that are comforting in this time of confusion."

Linda nodded, she hadn't thought about it that way before. "Thank you, Father." She was about to get up, then remembered. "Oh! My other sins. Uh, I lost my temper at my husband a a lot, had impure thoughts, and, uh... swore a lot."

"Three Our Fathers and six Hail Marys."

"Thanks again, Father. I... you've given my a lot to think about."

When Linda came out of confession, Danny and the family were waiting for her. She had forgotten they were going out for Mary's birthday. 

"That was a long one. Twenty minutes," Jack rocked on his heels with a smug look on his face. 

"Shut up."

They waited a while longer for everyone to get done with the confessions, before they got in their respective cars to go to the restaurant. 

"That was a long confession," Danny treaded carefully as he and Linda followed his father's car. 

"Had a lot to confess," she shrugged, looking out the window. 

"Was it, um-"

"Danny, what I confess is none of your damn business. Priest-confessee confidentially. He did say he was going to give me some scripture to look up."

"Why?"

"Uh, guidance. Let's not talk about it, though. Let's just enjoy Mary's birthday dinner."

***********

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Linda told Danny after the nice dinner. It was elegant and classy, just like the lady of the evening. "And punched you. And called you those names."

He draped his arm over her shoulder, kissing her cheek. "I shouldn't have yelled at you either. I'm sorry I've been so insensitive to your feelings during all this."

"It's okay, Danny. I should've been thinking about your feelings, too. After all, you did half the work."

Danny smirked at her, "what brought all this on?"

"A little soul searching, Scripture digging, and a talk with Father McMurray."

"Your confession." He wanted her to talk about it, so he led her to sit on the couch. 

"When you were out with Joe Thursday, I prayed. I prayed a lot, and was led to some scriptures. Scriptures that said babies are a gift from God, tiny little miracles. And well.... after that..." she let out a breath. "I've made up my mind. I'm keeping my baby." She smiled at him, "keeping our baby."


	5. Eating For Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I haven’t updated this in a bit! Inspiration is sometimes hard to come by. Thank you for your patience as always

"Really?" Danny smiled widely. 

"Yes, but I don't want anyone knowing. Not until we reach the mark, okay? I mean, by the time I actually get an appointment, we might be past that mark!" 

"Linda."

"I know, I know... you forgive me for the hell I gave you?"

"Yes. You forgive me for my misogynistic pig headedness?"

"Oh, Danny, you're not misogynistic. But yes, I forgive you. But I really don't want anyone knowing. Not until after that appointment, okay?"

"Okay, fine."

"You can keep a secret, I trust?"

"I'm keeping one now!"

"Right. Take me to bed?" She ticked an eyebrow up, holding out her hand.

**********

It was March seventh, a chilly Tuesday afternoon in New York. Linda was at her doctors, getting the tests done. She had wanted Danny to come, but he was called out on a case very last minute. She didn't want to go it alone, so she asked Mary to come.

"I'm so excited for you two, dear!" Mary talked quietly in the waiting room. "It's going to be a beautiful baby. I knew you'd make the right choice."

"Let's not get our hopes up," Linda wanted to be practical about this. What if she got attached to her baby, and he or she died just like Ella? "It is possible I can't ever carry to term."

"That only happened once."

"And before that was eleven years of possible diseases."

"Linda, you were never diseased. You just have a hard time during that time of the month."

"Yeah, and all the research I did said if I can't physically move, and it's interfering with daily life, something is wrong. But nooooo. No one believed me, like always." Linda hated how her blood family and the doctors treated her. They didn't want to do anything for her, claiming she was just 'overreacting' and was 'too sensitive'. "At least Danny respects me during that time, y'know? Bringing me chocolates, letting me cry, not taking anything I say personally."

"As he should."

"Linda Reagan?" The nurse calls. 

She blows out a breath and stands up, hoping all is well.

*********

Danny was stuck listening to a confession that was so thin, he could see right through it. "Imma stop you there," he interrupted the man sitting in the box. "Exactly how stupid do you think we are?"

"What?" The man, who's name was Scully, feigned confusion. 

"We know you're lying."

"I'm not lying. How could you say that?"

Danny shrugged, "fine. Then we'll just call your wife. Tell her you've been runnin' round the city all hours of the night, raping young women then killing them."

"You can tell her that, if you want. But I'm tellin' you, I'm not the guy." 

Danny was about to say something when his phone rang in his pocket. He looked at it; Linda. She's supposed to be at the doctors, so she must be calling about how it went. 

"Do you need to take that?" Danny's partner asked. 

"I can call her back."

************

Linda groaned when Danny's phone went to voicemail. "Ugh, voicemail."

"He's probably busy right now," Mary assured her daughter in law. "But he'll call you back.”

“He will.” Two minutes later, Linda’s phone rang, displaying Danny’s name. “Hey, babe.”

“Hi, honey. Everything go well?”

“Mhmm. Turns out I’m more pregnant than I thought. I’m about twelve weeks pregnant.”

“That’s what? Two and a half months?”

“Yeah. So I figure in about three weeks we can tell the family.”

“Sounds like a plan. I gotta go now, though. Love you.”

“Love you more.”

“Love you most.”

***********

Three weeks later, the family was gathered for Sunday dinner. Only Mary, Linda, and Danny knew about the blonde’s pregnancy, so it was a surprise to everyone how much food Linda was taking. 

“Isn’t that too much?” Jack Boyle wondered, ticking an eyebrow. 

“Not if you’re eating for two.” Oops, that was supposed to be a secret a little longer. 

“What?” Joe looked up from his plate. 

“No way!” Erin smiled widely. 

“For two?” Jamie echoed. 

“Really? A baby?” 

Linda and Danny nodded, with big smiles in their faces. 

“How far along are you?” Frank wondered, happy to have another grandchild (hopefully a boy this time). 

“Almost sixteen weeks. We wanted to wait to tell y’all in case anything... happened.”

“Congratulations!” The family congratulated the parents to be, and all at once started asking questions. 

Linda talked over them, making them shut their mouths. “Thank you. We don’t know anything yet. We don’t know if it’s a boy or girl- nor do we want to. We don’t have any names in mind, or color schemes for the nursery, or anything.”

“The first hurdle was getting past the mark,” Danny explained, leaving out the main reason for keeping it secret. “We’ll jump the rest when we get there. Right now, all that matters is that Linda and the baby stay healthy.”

Linda agreed, “Since I do have a history of complications, we’re taking all the precautions. We’re taking it slow, one step at a time.”

“Even though we want to do most of it by ourselves, we won’t oppose any help.”

“It’s going to be tough since we’re both working, but we made it work while I was in school, so we can make it work now.”

The dinner conversation was dominated with baby talk, with Mary and Erin giving suggestions. Linda nodded and tried to take it all in. 

**********

“So. Are you glad you decided to keep our baby?” Danny wondered as they laid in bed that night. 

“Yes, I’m very happy.”

“You don’t sound too happy.”

“Danny,” Linda turned to face him. “I need you to know that I’m thrilled- I’m ecstatic that we’re having this baby, but I’m also scared. Ella was born without a heartbeat, and I had a terrible pregnancy with her. I just... I don’t want this baby suffering the same fate. So I’m so very happy, but so scared too.”

Danny pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “I understand. I’m kinda scared, too. But we have to take it a day at a time.”

“Step by step.”

“If you start Singing, I’m gonna kill you.” He pointed a finger at her. 

She feigned surprise, “and hurt our baby?!”

They laughed and fell asleep in each other’s arms. Linda was still scared- as she would be unlit the baby was born- but she knew she could do anything with Danny by her side.


	6. I Want Pizza

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t think this story will be super long, probably no more than ten chapters... but just cause there’s only four more chapters doesn’t mean there won’t be drama. ;D

"Danny... Danny. Wake up. Danny. Danny, are you awake?"

Danny opened his eyes, "I don't know."

"Danny, I'm hungry," Linda said, leaning her elbow against the pillows behind her. "I want pizza. Get me some pizza?"

Danny looked at the clock, "no pizza place is open at three in the morning!"

"Seven eleven is. Please? I'm hungry."

"I'm not getting pizza at three am."

"Why not?"

"Cause I'd have to go to the city, and that's at least half an hour. Both ways."

"But I'm hungry."

"Ignore it. Think of something else."

"If you won't get me pizza, I won't have sex with you." She threatened, crossing her arms. 

"You're already withholding it!"

"That's cause it hurts.... please, Danny? I'm really hungry!"

"Ignore it. Tell it to go away."

"I knew it," Linda's voice cracked as she crossed her arms. "You don't love me, or this baby!"

Danny fell back against the pillows, grumbling obscenities. He tossed the covers off and walked to the dresser to grab a T-shirt.

"Thank you." Linda smiled as she watched him approach the door. "And make sure it's cheese. None of this pepperoni crap."

***********

"Can I have pizza please?"

"What kind and how many slices?" The seven eleven cashier wondered. Danny guessed he was about ten years older than himself. 

"Uh, I don't know. Cheese. Three? Slices." He tried to stifle a yawn. 

"Lemme guess. Pregnant wife at home?"

"Four months in." He nodded, holding up four fingers. 

"Then you'll wanna get her a pack of Oreos, a pudding cup, and a fruit cup."

"You've done this before?" Danny walked to the area where he could get the other items. 

"Oh, yeah." The cashier and the detective were the only ones in the store. "We just found out we're having our fourth. I'm usually not here. Doing a little moonlighting."

"Congratulations," he set the Oreos, pudding cup, and fruit cup on the counter as the cashier boxed his pizza. 

"You, too. Is it your first?"

Danny stopped himself from saying 'technically'. This stranger didn't have to know the fate of their first child. "Yeah."

"Good luck," he handed Danny the bag of purchases. 

"Thanks, I'll need it."

************

When Danny came home, he found Linda fast asleep, mostly on his side of the bed. He hung his head in annoyance and went back downstairs to put the food in the refrigerator, with the exception of the Oreos. He'd be alright getting it from the fridge- annoyed, but alright. 

He climbed the stairs, then into bed, and almost immediately Linda asked, "did ya get my pizza?"

"It's downstairs."

"Why didn't you bring it up?"

"You were sleeping!" 

"Get it for me. Please?"

Danny got the pizza, pudding cup, fruit cup, and the Oreos. He came back upstairs after reheating the pizza slices. "Just in case you changed your mind, I got extras."

"Oooh." Linda took the bag from him and peered inside. "Pizza, pudding, fruit, and Oreos. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He kissed her, then snuggled deep into the covers while she sat up and ate. 

On her second slice of pizza, Linda opened the pudding cup. "I wonder if it'll taste good if I dip my pizza into the pudding."

"Oh my gosh..." Danny mumbled into the pillow. He lifted his head, only to watch his wife dip the pizza into the chocolate pudding and take a bite. "Ugh, that's gross!"

"Lemme enjoy my pizza the way I wanna enjoy my pizza!"

He plopped his head back onto the pillow, wondering how in the world she found pizza and chocolate to be appetizing. 

***********

The next time Danny woke up was when the alarm buzzed, alerting the couple it was time to rise. He frowned upon not seeing Linda sleeping next to him, as she was usually the one to wake up late. He got out of bed and walked to the en-suite, a sigh escaping his lips when he saw Linda in front of the mirror. 

She ran a hand over her exposed belly. She was just starting to get a baby bump, and the baby had recently started to move. Baby Reagan wasn't moving a lot, but since Linda had been previously pregnant, she knew Baby Reagan wouldn't move a lot for a little while longer. 

"It's pretty cool, huh?" Danny smiled as he walked up to her. 

"It's amazing, Danny. There's life inside me, and I... I guess I forgot how great I felt during pregnancy. I just remember all the bad stuff, the nausea, the cramps, the sleepless nights."

"You think Baby R is gonna give you that trouble?"

"He or she might kick more, maybe, who knows? But the morning sickness is gone, unlike it was with Ella. And I actually feel really happy. I'm really glad I did the right thing."

Danny placed a hand over his wife's on her belly, "me too."

She leaned against him, "we need a better temporary name than Baby Reagan."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. Something universal, like... Sydney. Or... Terry."

"We'll figure it out." He kissed her cheek.


	7. Worried Parents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has been having slow updates. I plan (hope) to finish this this month (fingers crossed)

Danny yawned at work that day as he heard the dial tone of the phone. He was about to give up when the familiar voice answered, almost out of breath. 

"Dr. Riley. How may I help you?" She let out a puff of air. 

"...Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, definitely. I'm fine. Who's this?"

"Danny Reagan."

"Danny! Hi! It's been a hot minute." 

"Do you have a few minutes?"

"What's wrong?" Brie sat in her chair, wondering why he was calling her. "Are you doing okay?"

"Uh... yeah. Sure."

"You're holding back. What is it?"

"Linda's pregnant with our second kid-"

"I know! Congratulations!"

"Thank you. Thank you. The only problem is... that it's stressing. Who knew waiting for a baby would be taxing on your mental health?" He was fine talking to Brie about his worries. She knew what was going on in his head, and she didn't ridicule him. 

"It's a lot, especially if it's your first kid."

"Yeah. I just.. I don't know what's coming, I guess. She's six months pregnant, and... that's when we lost the first baby."

"And you're needing some reassuring logic?"

"Yes."

"Danny, the first time was a- a fluke. I shouldn't call it that, but that's what it really was, wasn't it? Linda was very stressed and scared, and it triggered labor. If you keep her calm and stress free throughout the rest of the pregnancy, she should be fine."

Danny smiled, feeling a little more calm. All he had to do was get Linda to relax and not stress. How hard could that be? He knew he could do it in a number of ways. "I can do that, yeah." He was about to say something when he heard another dial tone. "Hold on, Brie. Someone's beepin'."

"That's okay. I gotta go anyways. It was nice talking to you again. Hope I helped."

"You have. Thanks."

"Absolutely." Brie hung up, and Danny answered the next call. Before he could say hello, the other person started talking. 

"Danny, it's Linda," Joe's voice filled his ear. "I don't know what happened! I was in the neighborhood-"

"Wait a minute. In the neighborhood? Nobody is ever in the neighborhood of Staten Island!"

"Do you want to know what happened to your wife or not?"

"Something happened to Linda? Is that her crying in the background?"

"Yes. She called me, because she didn't want to bother you, cause you were up with her all night and are now cranky. But she was crying then, and she hasn't stopped crying. Only for like, ten minute intervals, then it's the waterworks again! I can't get her to calm down."

"I'm coming. Tell it'll be fine, whatever it is, it'll be fine."

"Okay. Hurry, though, I'm afraid she'll pass out."

"I'll be there soon."

**********

Danny was practically jumping out of the car before he had even had it parked. He was so worried about his wife. What would make her cry for seemingly hours on end? He met Joe by the door and together they quickly walked into the living room. Danny immediately sat next to Linda on the couch, everything else around him a blur. 

"Danny!" Linda sobbed, holding her arms out for a hug. She cried onto Danny's shoulder, holding his shirt and wrapping his tie around her hand. He held her as she cried, waiting to ask any questions until she had calmed down enough to answer them. 

As he held her, he noted the wastebasket next to her feet, filled with used tissues. He noticed the glass filled with ice and no water sitting on the table. He noticed how observant his younger brother really was. 

"I'll refill this," Joe picked up the glass and walked into the kitchen. 

"You ready to talk?"

Linda pulled away, nodding. She smoothed out his shirt and tie, swallowing thickly, trying to get her throat dry. She smiled at Joe when he handed her the water. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"What's wrong? Do you need anything? What can I do?" Danny rubbed her arm reassuringly. 

"What if..." she sighed, taking another sip from the glass. 

"That's right. Slow, steady sips." He nodded, waiting for her to talk, to be ready to open up to him. 

"What if... what if this baby..." she whispered the last of the question. "Dies? What if... something goes wrong? What if..." her voice got louder with every 'what if', some of them being absurd scenarios. 

"Linda, Linda. Honey." Danny tried to get Linda to stop rambling on, "you're gonna freak out the baby."

She stopped then, her hands on her swollen belly. "But it's- I'm six months, now, and that's- that's when.. what if.. it should happen again?"

"It won't happen again, I promise."

"You don't know that! You can't say that!" She stood up and started shaking again with sobs. 

Danny guided her to sit back onto the couch, handing her the water again. "Do I need to call someone? Shelby or Dr. Fifer or- or maybe even Brie?"

She shook her head, "no. It's just that...” she glanced over to Joe, silently signaling she wanted to be alone with her husband. She looked to her lap, “everything’s going pretty okay- except for the dizziness- but she gave me something for that. But... I feel awful, and terrible, and down right gross, and I look even worse than I feel!”

“No you don’t,” Danny pushed her hair from her face. “You look great. You’re beautiful.”

“You’re supposed to say that,” Linda wiped a few tears off her cheek. “You’re my husband.”

“If it’s any consolation,” Joe spoke from his spot by the tv, “I think you look hot.”

“Joe,” Danny slightly glared at him, a warning tone in his voice. 

“I think I want to lay down,” Linda stated, getting off the couch. Danny followed her up the stairs to their bedroom. 

“Something else is wrong,” he held her from behind, laying on the bed with her. His hand subconsciously rubbed her stomach. He kissed her shoulder, “what is it?”

“There’s- it’s... break through bleeding.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s bleeding between periods. Sometimes it’s heavier and a lot more painful then the actual cycle.”

Danny could tell she was in “nurse mode”. She wouldn’t been crying otherwise as she explained to him. “But you’re pregnant.”

“I know.”

“So what does it mean?”

“Any number of things,” she turned to him slowly. “From inflammation of the cervix to placenta abruption.”


	8. The News

"That sounds bad..."

“It is. But it’s rare and uncommon, and I’m not over thirty five.”

“But you still need to go to the doctor?”

“The ER,” Linda whispered, starting to cry again. 

“Then let’s go!” Danny helped her get up and lead her down the stairs. “We gotta go, Joe!”

Joe came running out to the yard after them. “What? Why?”

“Something’s happened.” Danny helped Linda into the car. “We’ll be back.”

“But what’s wrong?” Joe grumbled when the car sped down the road. “What happened?”

***********

“Where should we go? Maternity or emergency?” Danny wondered, looking over to his wife. 

“ER first. If they won’t do anything, then maternity.”

“You’re gonna be okay, Linda,” he parked the car. “You and the baby.”

As quickly as possible, they walked into the busy ER. Danny had been hoping it’d be a calm day. “My wife is six months pregnant and bleeding,” he told the nurse at the desk in the ER. 

“Fill out this form,” she handed him two sheets of paper. 

“Didn’t you hear? She’s bleeding!”

“Fill out this form, and we’ll be with you shortly.”

“We don’t have time for this,” he shook his head and lead Linda to the elevators. 

She squeezed his hand, her other hand on her stomach. “Danny, I’m scared.”

He was too; he was freaking out, but he remained calm for her and the baby. “It’s going to be okay.” He cupped her face in his hands, kissing her forehead. He kissed her lips twice before the elevator dinged their arrival. 

Danny repeated what he had said earlier, “it’ll be okay.” They walked to the desk where the nurse looked a lot more ready to help. “My wife is six months pregnant and bleeding.”

“What are the other symptoms?” She asked while the other nurse walked away. 

“Dizziness, nausea, and pain in the lower abdomen and back.” Linda relayed, gripping the counter. 

“We’re getting a room ready for you right now. If you want to have a seat, Sarah will come and get you very shortly.”

“How long will the wait be?” Danny squeezed Linda’s hand three times, reassuring her it was going to be okay. 

“Only three minutes. A nurse can perform the tests you’ll need.”

“Thank you,” Linda smiled despite the fear. She blew out a breath as she sat in the plastic chair, realizing she was probably blowing things out of proportion. 

Soon Sarah came out to take them to the room, and instructed Linda to get into the hospital gown. Danny helped and they waited about another minute for Sarah to come back. 

“We’re going to do an ultrasound first, to make sure the baby is okay.” 

Linda closed her eyes as the cold gel spread over her warm skin. She relaxed slightly when she felt Danny hold her hand. “Is it- is the baby okay? Is he alright?”

Sarah moved the wand, looking at the ultrasound screen. “I can see it...”

Danny looked to the screen and smiled; he was amazed and relieved. “So she’s okay? The baby and Linda?”

“It’s not okay,” Linda started crying, her eyes still closed. “It’s not okay. There’s no heart beat.”

“Yes, honey, there is. Listen,” he bent over to be face level with her, and pointed to the monitor. “Just listen.”

She stopped crying for a little bit, listening for a heartbeat. When she heard one, she cried again, out of relief. “It’s okay. The baby’s okay.”

“The baby looks as healthy as a horse.” Sarah smiled, moving the wand slightly so Linda could see. “Would you like to know the gender?”

As much as Linda would have loved to be surprised, she knew they’d save a lot of money knowing the gender. She had heard of couples buying baby girl things, then ending up having a boy. “What do you think?” She looked to Danny. 

“I think yes.”

“Me too.” They had initially wanted to be surprised, but she saw more logic to knowing. “What’s the gender?” 

“He’s a little boy.” Sarah told them. 

“A boy,” Linda smiled, feeling a sense of relief wags over her. 

“Wait a minute. What about the bleeding and the dizziness and all that?” Danny wondered. He was happy the baby was okay, but he needed to know if his wife was okay. 

“Since the baby is alive and healthy, I’d say the bleeding is because of an inflamed cervix. I’ll need to check.”

“Okay,” Linda nodded, a little worried about the test. She watched Sarah turn the monitor off and wipe the gel away. 

“Do you want your husband with you?” 

“Yes.” She reached for Danny’s hand again, and he immediately grabbed hers. 

Sarah set up the bed, helping Linda to put her feet in the stirrups. She quickly performed the test in silence, making Linda’s heart rate go up. “Your cervix is a little inflamed. When was the last time you had intercourse?”

“Uh...”

“Four and a half months ago,” Danny supplied. When Linda looked at him, he shrugged and said, “what?”

“Why?” 

“Sometimes sex can cause inflammation. Do either of you have an STD?”

“No, we’re both clean.” (It was a mystery to Linda how Danny managed to avoid the STDs considering the type of girls he used to date). 

“I’ll prescribe an antibiotic and you’ll be good to go.” Sarah stood up. 

“Really?” The Mom to be readjusted herself on the bed. 

“Yup. It’s no big thing. Just take the antibiotic for a week or two, then go to your regular doctor.”

“Thank you,” Linda felt like she could breathe again. 

Danny shook Sarah’s hand, “we appreciate it a lot.”

“Don’t mention it.” She wrote somethings on the sheet of paper and handed it to Linda. “Give this to the front desk, and the pharmacy should have the prescription by tomorrow or the next day.”

“Thank you so much.” Once Sarah left, Linda let out a big breath. “Oh, now I can breathe again.”

“What caused the inflammation?” 

“The same thing that might cause your gums to swell for a day or two. Just a little infection that goes away by itself.”

“Oh.” That didn’t really make sense to him, but he accepted it and helped Linda back into her clothes. “So we can rest easy. Ride out the last three months.”

“Danny,” Linda turned to him, putting her hand on his chest. “You know my history with menstruation, and you know that this is a risky pregnancy.”

“Because of the endometriosis?”

She nodded, “the fact of the matter is, this baby is a miracle. The fact that I’ve been pregnant twice is a miracle. And after he is born, and a little older, they’ll probably want to go in and remove the endo.”

“What does that entail?”

“Basically it’s like have oral surgery. You go under, they cut you open, remove the bad tooth, and voila! Mac n cheese is your diet for the next two days.”

“But we don’t have to worry about that, not yet.”

“No. Not yet. Let’s focus on this baby, and getting food into my stomach.”

Danny laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders, walking to the front desk.


	9. Cries And A Deep Conmection

When Danny had been called into work that day, Linda had cried. She had wanted him to come to her doctor's appointment later that day; she was having another ultrasound, and had wanted her husband to see their little baby. 

On the drive to the obgyn, she had cried again. She had a meltdown in her car in the parking lot, but had finally pulled herself together. She was still sad as she walked into the office, but knew it couldn't be helped. When she saw all the husbands sitting next to their wives, she felt as if she'd been punched in the gut. Somehow she had managed to check in and pick a lone chair to sit in without breaking down, but when the couple across from her leaned into each other and acted like couples do, that was when she lost it. Immediately she started to ugly-cry, and immediately all four wives were at her side. 

"What's wrong?" The one on her left side kneeled to the floor. She looked about five months pregnant. "I'm Elsie, what's wrong, sweetie?"

Linda took in a breath, embarrassed she was crying like that in public. "My husband's not here. He was supposed to- to be here, but he ha- had to g-go to work. And it was s'pposed to be spe- special, and it's all so terrible."

The wives collectively comforted her, patting her shoulders and hands and even her knees. One wife, Marilee, tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and Linda only cried more. 

"It's not fair," she hiccuped, "he was gonna be here, and I feel terrible because I made him feel guilty, and I look terrible-"

"Oh, no, you don't!" Phoebe, who stood on the right side, was quick to disagree. "You look so cute! I've been looking for a top that cute for ages!"

"And you're very pretty," Elsie complimented her. "Even crying, you're positively glowing!"

Marilee smiled at her husband who had brought tissues over for the crying mother to be. "And your husband loves you."

"I know he does," Linda had stopped crying now. "I just wish he was here, y'know? It's our first baby."

A chorus of "congratulations!" broke out from the wives before one was called back and all went back to their seats. Linda was soon called back as well, and she sighed, swallowing more tears. 

**********

“Linda. Linda.”

She groaned out a response, wondering what could be so important at two in the morning. 

“Is it possible to get appendicitis twice?”

“What?” Certainly she hadn’t heard him correctly. 

“Appendicitis,” Danny repeated. “Is it possible to get it twice?”

“Danny, getting appendicitis twice would be like amputating a finger twice.”

“You can amputate a finger more than once. One is gone, but there’s seven more left, including two thumbs.”

There was a long stretch of silence before Linda answered, “this is the best sleep I’ve gotten in months. You better be dying.” Not once did her eyes open. 

“I think I am! My stomach feels like shit, and it’s so weird cause it’s not just my stomach.”

“Where does it hurt?” She was dead tired, but she was still a nurse and a wife. She knew there was no way it was appendicitis, but it could be something else. 

“Here,” Danny intentionally tapped her pubic region and she didn’t even try to hide the instinctive moan. “And my thighs, and lower back.”

She furrowed her brows, “is there a stabbing pain behind your belly button?”

“Yes.”

“And it feels like the shark from Jaws is eating you up?”

“Yes! What the hell is up with that?”

She propped herself on her elbow, her eyes open and her smile wide. “Danny, that’s wonderful!”

“How the hell is getting eaten by a shark wonderful?”

“Don’t you see? Those are sympathy pains!”

“They’re what?”

“Sympathy pains! It happens a lot to husbands when their wives are pregnant. You’re experiencing the pain that I’m feeling!”

Danny cursed, dropping back to the pillows. He couldn’t help but smile, though, when Linda kissed his cheek. If she was happy, he’d try to be happy too. 

*******

“She says we’ve got some sorta deep spiritual connection,” Danny relayed over the phone to his Mom the next morning. 

“And what do you think?” 

“I think I won’t think ‘she’s overreacting, she has to get over herself’ ever again when she’s cramping.”

Mary burst into a fit of laughter.

“At least Tylenol works for me,” he poured himself more coffee. He had some how been able to convince his boss to let him go on paternity leave a little early. His figuring was that Linda was due to have the baby any day now, and he wanted to be by her side when that happened. 

“How’s she doing? I know the due date is any day now.”

“Yeah, any second really. She’s late, and if it doesn’t happen soon, they’re gonna um... force labor? I didn’t know they could do that.”

“Oh, yeah. Jamie had to be induced.”

“Huh.”

“Anyway, I wanted to know if Linda would be interested in grabbing lunch with me, Erin, and Nicky today?”

“I’m sure she’d love that, but I’m not exactly sure if she’s up to moving. She’s been in bed for the last three days.”

“I’m sorry; we’ll bring her a doggie bag.”

“Yeah, she’d like that.” He sipped his coffee, “mm, listen, Mom, Linda’s-“

Mary frowned when he didn’t finish his thought. Her friend grew deeper when she heard thudding in the background, then the clattering of a mug and the phone falling to the floor. “Danny? Danny, what’s happened?”

Danny came skidding into the foyer to find Linda on the floor, clutching her huge pregnant belly. Blood was coming from the side of her head, and she was crying. He dropped to his knees, putting one hand on her head and the other on her stomach. “What happened?”

Her face scrunched in pain, “I don’t know! I was co- comin’ down for- for food, and-“ she sobbed harder, starting to cough and gag. 

“Shit. Shit, shit! Okay, okay. I’ll be back. I need to call an ambulance, but I’ll be back. I swear.” Danny didn’t remember calling the ambulance, waiting for it, or watching Linda being loaded in. He just remembered her cries and the high pitched wails of the sirens.


	10. Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be the last chapter, but it was getting too long. So y’all get a bonus chapter soon

The EMTs were busy cleaning Linda's head wound (Danny had deduced she hit her head on the edge of the railing post), when she swatted their hands away. "I don't care about me! I care about our baby! He has to be okay! He has to be!" She started crying again, and Danny felt absolutely helpless sitting there. 

The ambulance didn't have the equipment needed to check if the baby was okay, so the father did the next logical thing. He leaned forward and placed a hand on Linda's stomach. He held his breath as he waited for any sort of sign everything was okay. He visibly relaxed as he said, "he moved. He's alive." 

Linda still cried, worried for the baby. The blaring sirens were not helping her headache, either. She was praying- praying her hardest that the baby would be okay. She couldn't lose another child, especially one so close to being welcomed into the cruel, cruel world. 

Danny's phone had been ringing every five minutes, and until the nurses ushered him out of Linda's room and shoved him in a chair, he ignored it. Now that he had no other choice but to wait, he figured he'd answer whoever it was. "Reagan."

"Danny! What happened? We were so worried! We still are! Were are you? Is Linda okay?" It was Mary. 

"Linda fell down the stairs. She hit her head, and... oh gosh." He rubbed at his eye, refusing to cry. It was only a bump on the head; he had felt the baby move. The baby was okay; the baby was okay. 

"Oh my gosh! Do you know why she fell? How's the baby? Are they okay?"

"I, uh, I don't know. I don't know. I'm waiting for a verdict. They kicked me out."

"Call us when you hear anything. We'll be praying."

"I will, thanks, Mom." He hung up, continuing to tell himself everything was okay. All the fake reassurance he had built cam crumbling down when a nurse walked out. He immediately jumped to his feet, "is she okay? And the baby? How about the baby?"

"Both are fine, however-"

"F***." The curse slipped from his lips. A 'however' in any hospital situation was not good. 

"She fell because the baby was lying on one of her nerves. It cut off circulation, basically, and that's why she tumbled."

"But?"

"But because she fell from pretty high up, and hit that many obstacles going down, we've had to induce labor."

Danny knew what she was saying to him, but it was not making any sense. "She's in labor?"

"Yes, and she's desperately asking for you. We've moved her up to maternity, so if you'll follow me." 

He followed to the elevator, and once inside realized how fast and how loudly his heart was beating. It wasn't everyday his wife fell down the stairs and was forced into labor. He suddenly remembered something- he was supposed to keep her stress free, and falling down the stairs was definitely not a stress free activity. What if this birth was a repeat of the last one? That would turn Linda off of kids for forever. 

"Right this way," the nurse interrupted his thoughts as she walked out of the elevator. He followed her in silence. She opened the door to Linda's room, letting him walk in. 

"Honey," he was soon by her beside, holding her hand. "Honey, are you okay?" He kissed her cheek. 

"They've started labor. I haven't had any real contractions yet, I don't think." Linda leaned her head against his, "I'm glad you're here. I don't think I could do this without you."

He kissed her temple again, and they waited in silence for a few minutes. "When does it start?"

"When does what start?"

"Labor."

"Soon I guess... oh!"

"What? What?"

"A contraction. My period cramps are more painful than that!" Looking to the side, Linda mumbled, "why do I remember this being more painful?"

Before he could answer her, she squeezed his hand as she grunted, muttering 'ow' over and over again. "How long will it take?"

"It depends," she answered, blowing out a slow breath. 

"Are you okay?"

"I'm a little scared," Linda admitted quietly. "I don't want a repeat of last time."

Danny kissed her forehead, not sure what else he could do at this moment. "It won't."

"How come?"

"Do you think you would've gotten pregnant again, only to lose the baby again? Life's cruel, but not that cruel."

She smirked, "you sound like Mary."

"She's worried about you. I was talking to her when you- when you fell. She was the one calling in the ambulance."

"I didn't mean to worry her."

"You didn't. Well, you did, but it wasn't your fault."

***********

Jamie looked at the clock on the wall- it was 6:30, nearly dinner time. He was hungry, but also excited to be getting a nephew- a boy nephew. Hi stomach growled loudly and Joe looked at him. 

"I'm hungry."

"Me too. I had to skip lunch," he sat down next to him. "At least it's not one in the morning."

"True."

"What exactly happened?" Erin turned her attention to her Mom. 

"Linda fell down the stairs, because the baby was sitting on a nerve in her leg." Mary accepted the coffee Frank had brought from the vending machines. "My understanding is that she was pretty much at the top of the stairs-"

"Oh no!"

"And because of that, the many obstacles she hit, including gashing her head- they had to induce labor."

"That was six hours ago, almost seven," Frank said. "I don't remember your labor being that long."

"That's because the more children you have, the faster the labor is. But she could be having complications, like excessive bleeding or the baby is breached, or any number of things. She fell... onto her stomach, so complications happened that otherwise wouldn't have happened."

"I just hope they're both okay," Joe moved to stand by the window. "It'd be devastating if we lost one or both of them."

"Especially for Danny, since Linda keeps him grounded." Erin picked up her coffee cup.


	11. He’s Perfect

Danny sighed, standing in a corner. He had been yelled at, and even though he knew she didn’t mean it, it still stung a little. He had to remind himself she was in pain- a pain he’d never experience, much to his utter relief. But being banned to a corner for a while left him with little to do, and being hyper active, he naturally found something to do. He picked up a weird looking tool, one that looked like the head of a pterodactyl... or maybe a duck. 

Linda looked over to Danny, who was opening and closing the bill of the tool. He smirked at himself as he made quacking sounds. “How f***ing old are you?!”

“Twenty seven.” Which was the wrong thing to say, because he got yelled at again. Reluctantly he sat down next to her, sighing dramatically. He needed to get his nervous energy out somehow! 

“What is your problem?”

Danny didn’t want to tell her, knowing he’d get in even more trouble. He jumped up when she started yelling and crying again. “What? What? Is it coming?”

“It hurts. A lot.”

He kissed her sweaty forehead, holding her hand. “It’ll be over soon. And you won’t even remember the pain.”

She nodded, whimpering. When the door opened and a doctor and nurse came in, she unashamedly breathed, “finally!”

“It’s been a long time,” Danny looked at the clock. It was now almost midnight. “Is she okay?”

“No, I’m not okay!” She grabbed Danny’s hand as another contraction hit. They were coming more often now, and therefore were hurting much more. 

“On the next contraction,” the nurse said, adjusting her gloves, “we want you to push.”

*********

Erin had to go back home to Jack and Nicky around seven, and Joe took Jamie home at nine. Despite wanting to stay, Jamie knew the next day was an early day, a school day. So he reluctantly let Joe take him home (and neither told Mary how Joe had let him stay up an hour past his normal bedtime). 

“I hope everything’s okay,” Mary looked at her watch. It was now 1:30 the next morning. “It’s been fifteen hours.”

Frank looked to Mary, noting how tired she looked. “Why don’t you go home? I’ll stay here- you need your rest.”

“I’m fine, Francis.”

That was the end of that conversation. Frank knew if his wife called him by his Christian name, he had no say in the matter at hand. He sat down next to her, “it’ll be worth it though. To have another grandchild to spoil.”

Mary smiled, “they’ll be so happy- Danny and Linda, I mean. They were so devastes when Ella didn’t make it.”

“Any parent would be.”

**********

Danny tried not to freak out when medical terms were being shouted. He didn’t understand medicine or nursing or birthing babies, but he knew the sound of worried voices. 

“I can’t see a head.” The nurse said, and Linda squeezed Danny’s hand tighter. 

“No head?” Danny got out before the doctor talked again. 

“There’s a foot— it’s breached.”

“Breached?” He looked to Linda for an answer, but she was only crying. More medical jargon was thrown around, Linda was yelling again, and he felt like the most useless piece of trash. He had no idea what was going on, no one would tell him in English, and Linda looked and sounded like she was in so much pain, and he couldn’t do a freaking thing. 

“Okay, Linda, we need you to push.”

Finally, something he understood. He clutched her hand with both of his, wondering what the hell was happening behind the small curtain of blankets. He wanted to watch, but Linda needed him. Besides, he had seen a baby being born before- in the back of his patrol car. (That was a fun mess to clean up). 

Linda dropped her head back, annoyed, tired, and in pain. She was so scared- a breached birth. That meant her little baby was turned the wrong way, and was probably being choked by the umbilical chord. She wanted it to be over; she wanted to be holding her son against her chest, her head resting on Danny’s shoulder. 

She bit her lip when the baby came out of her body. He wasn’t crying like he was supposed to be. In the few minutes after birth, she swore she stopped breathing. She didn’t hear, see, or feel anything else while she waited for her baby to do something. She closed her eyes, ready to except her fate of being childless. She just wasn’t cut out to be a mother, that was her only explanation... until she heard high pitched wails.

“Here he is,” the nurse handed her the tiny baby. 

“Oh...” this time, Linda cried tears of joy instead of tears of fear and pain. She closed her eyes, holding her baby to her, saying a quick prayer of thanks. She and Danny didn’t say anything as the nurse cleaned up the mother. 

“We’ll be back shortly,” the nurse and doctor left; Linda knew they were going to get the baby’s bed ready. 

“He’s so small,” Danny ran his fingers over the baby’s head. 

“He’s perfect,” Linda whispered, pressing a kiss to the baby’s forehead.

“What do you want to call him?” They had discussed names, but hadn’t decided on any. 

“Jackson. Jack for short.”

“He looks like a Jack.”

“You pick the middle name.” She laid her head against Danny’s shoulder, thoroughly exhausted. 

“How about we call him Andrew Jackson?”

“Like the president?”

“Sure. He was good, right? And he’s got his face on a bill.”

Linda chuckled, “naming him after a president? He’ll have high expectations.”

“He’s a Reagan. He already has high expectations.”

She couldn’t argue with that. “We’ll still call him Jack for short. Andrew Jackson Reagan.”

When the baby was taken away to be properly cared for, and Linda asleep, Danny walked out the the waiting family. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but he was surprised the entire family wasn’t there. 

“Well, what happened?” Frank put an arm around Mary. 

Danny smiled widely, “it’s a boy. Andrew Jackson. Linda did good, I’m so proud.”

The parents hugged the new Dad, and he laughed with relief and joy. He went back to Linda, and laid beside her as she slept. 

Many hours later, they went home with their little bundle of joy, Andrew Jackson Reagan. Two days later, the family came to fawn over the baby and to drop off ready to eat meals. After a full day of family fun and love, Danny and Linda put Jack to bed. 

“So,” Danny looked at his wife. “What do you wanna do now?”

She smirked and led him to the bedroom. Ten minutes later, they were both fast asleep in each other’s arms, which was when Jack decided he wanted to eat, of course. 

Linda groaned along with Danny, and she rolled out of bed. “I’ll see what he wants.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t going to finish this tonight, but I got so excited finishing the draft, I had to complete it!
> 
> (And, yes, I stole the ending directly from Shrek 3rd. Sue me)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked the story of how Jack Reagan came to be! I hope you’ll check out my other stories if you liked this one 
> 
> Happy reading!


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